These 20 Photos Of Oklahoma In The 1950s Are Mesmerizing
By Ashley|Published January 23, 2016
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Ashley
Author
Ashley has lived in Oklahoma for 30 years and is the Oklahoma staff writer for onlyinyourstate.com. When she isn't writing about Oklahoma, she enjoys visiting the beach and exploring new areas.
The 1950s were a much better time for Oklahoma than the Great Depression era. Oklahoma was on its way to recovery after the wars, Dust Bowls and decline in farming. Oklahomans could start enjoying life more…televisions were becoming a staple in households, the summer heats were bearable with the increased manufacturing of mechanical air conditioning and wage scales were becoming comparable to the rest of the nation. The following are 20 photos taken throughout Oklahoma during the 1950s – and they are mesmerizing to see.
1. Taken in 1950, from the Tishomingo National Fish Hatchery file. Hopefully, they bought a bigger frying pan because these enormous blue catfish didn't get thrown back.
4. This image from 1950, is the old "OAMC Library." Completed in 1921, this was the first ever building that was solely devoted to the library. It was located less than 50 yards west from Old Central. It was succeeded in 1953, by the Edmon Low Library at OSU.
14. On August 28, 1958, a “sit-in” was staged at Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City. Walking into the store and ordering Cokes, a group of African-American youth, under Clara Luper's guidance, demonstrated their discontent with segregation and launched the nation's sit-in movement.
15. Educator and Civil Rights leader, Clara Luper, was born in Okfuskee County, OK. In 1957, Luper became the advisor for the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council.
18. Frank B. Eaton "Pistol Pete" rode in the October 1957, homecoming parade to spur support to make his caricature sketch the school's official mascot. Eaton had been the unofficial mascot since 1923. He died the next April and Charley Lester appeared as Pistol Pete in the 1958 parade.
